SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Customs authorities on Monday launched an investigation into Coupang Inc.’s domestic unit to examine foreign exchange transactions with its U.S.-based headquarters, government sources said. The Korea Customs Service dispatched an investigative team to the e-commerce giant’s office in Seoul earlier in the day, the sources said. The probe will [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s science ministry said Monday that a security breach at KT Corp., the country’s second-largest mobile carrier, stemmed from lax internal controls over femtocells—small base stations used in homes and offices—allowing attackers to penetrate the company’s core network and carry out unauthorized mobile payments. The Ministry of Science and [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A new law banning English level tests for preschool children has ignited a sharp debate among parents in Seoul’s education hubs, exposing deep divisions over early childhood education and the future of private English instruction. Earlier this month, the National Assembly passed a bipartisan amendment to the Private Education Act [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s self-employed sector is showing tentative signs of recovery, buoyed in part by government-issued consumption coupons and an improving growth backdrop, though economists caution that structural pressures could limit the durability of the rebound. According to data released Monday by the National Tax Service, the number of businesses that [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is on track to end dog meat farming nationwide by early 2027, as the vast majority of dog-breeding operations have already shut down following the implementation of a landmark ban, government data showed this week. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on Sunday that about [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission said on Friday that Coupang, the country’s largest e-commerce platform, has refused to comply with its recommendation to broaden the hiring of foreign delivery workers, adding to scrutiny already facing the company over a recent personal data leak. The commission said it decided [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The national pension fund has resumed strategic foreign exchange hedging operations as authorities stepped up efforts to stabilize the local currency, sources said Friday. The National Pension Service (NPS) restarted the program after extending both its currency swap agreement and the temporary strategic hedging scheme for another year, which [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The unification ministry said Friday it plans to integrate the main center and branch of Hanawon, the state facility for supporting North Korean defectors’ resettlement, next year amid a sharp decline in the number of such people coming to South Korea in recent years. Currently, the headquarters of Hanawon [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s government plans to enact a sweeping Climate Adaptation Act next year and expand the use of artificial intelligence to forecast floods, road icing and wildfires, as it steps up preparations for intensifying climate risks, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said the Fourth National [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will exempt a wider range of low-risk recyclable materials from mandatory import insurance requirements, a move aimed at securing recycling inputs and accelerating the country’s transition to a circular economy, the government said Monday. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced that it will revise enforcement [...]